A Thank You Letter To My Abuser…

R,

I never thought I would be thanking you for the hell you put me through, I never thought I would be abused either, yet here we are. I am writing you this to let you know that besides Beau, you were the best thing to ever happen to me. I wouldn’t be the strong mother, friend, or advocate I am without you.

For the longest time I was so scared of you. Thinking you would be the monster under my bed at night. I knew every night I would go to sleep I would meet you there in my nightmares reliving the abuse I went through with you. I would literally wake up drenched in sweat, crying, being completely terrified of just the thought of you. I would sleep with the lights on just incase I saw you in my window, never sleeping with them open just incase you tried to break in. I was scared to go out in public. Circling every parking lot to look for any trace of you or your family. The humiliation your family caused me, saying I lied about it all. The rumors that flew around this tiny town about me were crippling. Now I just laugh.

While I absolutely despise you for everything you did to me, my family, my son, and even your family, I love that you helped me find myself. You made me become a fighter, an independent woman, and you pointed me in the direction to find my passion in life.

Domestic Violence is one of the worst and most feared things a woman can go through in her lifetime. You took away the happiest time in my life. A time where a woman is supposed to be the most respected and valued, you turned into hell. You made me fight for my life, you broke a lot of hearts, caused a lot of stress, and you caused my child to come prematurely. You would yell, scream, and break things. Push, hit, and force yourself upon me. You poisoned me and you almost successfully killed me. You had broken me. You are and will always be the person I hate the most, yet I am so thankful for that.

You showed me exactly who NOT to date. In fact, I want to date the exact opposite of you, though you didn’t set the bar very high. You showed me that a man doesn’t hurt the person they love, a child does. You were, and probably still are an alcoholic. You were never driven to succeed. I now look for strength in the man I am with. Someone who wants to succeed, build a life, and respects me. Someone who loves my family and wants to be a father figure to my child. Let that sink in, I want someone else to help me raise the child you fought me for, you know the one that “needs his daddy”. You never changed a diaper, fed him a bottle, or sat up all night crying with him. You haven’t taught him to swim, ride a bike, or to open a door for a woman. I have. My family has. I have taught him to thank police officers, firefighters, and any military member. I have taught him to say please and thank you. I am teaching him exactly how to not be the man that you are.

By showing me what love was not, you taught me what love is. I am not just talking about relationships either, I mean in everyday life. I appreciate my family so much more. They have stepped up and all taken a huge roll in Beau’s life to fill the void that you left. Everyone of them has taken on a roll in raising him. He thankfully does’t have you, but he has one hell of a team behind him. I appreciate my friends more than ever. The true friends that have stuck by me through the hell of a life I lived with you and are still here today, watching me succeed. Those people are the ones you were trying to take me away from. By attempting to do that you have shown me who my real supporters are. I know who will stick by my side no matter what.

You lit a fire in me. By destroying me you forced me to rebuild myself. I am back stronger than ever. By crushing my self confidence I was able to find out what makes me feel empowered. I want to thank you for that.  You always blamed me for your drinking, anger, and resentment. By having all of those blow out, abusive attacks you taught me patience and how to remain calm in hostile situations.

Thank you for making me less trusting. Before you I would trust everyone, believing that everyone was caring and genuine, now I know that some people aren’t. I know to believe someone when they show me their true colors the first time. Trust actions, not words. If someone disrespects me its not because they are having a bad day, its because they don’t value and respect me enough to treat me the correct way.

Lastly, this is not an invitation to come back, call, email, or contact me in anyway. This is not me forgetting what you put me though or letting it go. This is for me to show you how amazing my life is without you. A small glimpse of the amazing life my child has. I am happy, truly happy. Happy just being me, single, full of love, and having tons of support. I love my family and I love the family my child has. While yours has zero involvement, that leaves room for future family members and more love for Beau. I hate the fact that you put me through so much pain, but I love the person I am today because of it.

Without love,

Alyssa